Define Love
by Koby J
Summary: Arthur is transferred from boarding school to the elite Camelot Academy in order to settle back into "home" and look at the business side of his father's multi-million dollar empire. In comes Merlin Emrys, doing strange things to his heart.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a Merlin/Arthur AU story with a hint of Gwen/Lance (possibly) :)**

**IMPORTANT UPDATE: I've changed the story so it's set in uni and not highschool – I recommended you at least skim through the first chapter again or things won't really follow up.**

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**It was exactly two weeks, three days, four hours and twenty eight minutes ago that Arthur Pendragon received the phone call from his father. Two weeks, two days and two hours fifteen minutes ago that he saw the last of his leaving party streak by in a blur from the car window and finally, two weeks, eleven hours and two minutes ago that he strode into his first class at Camelot University or "Cam-U".

So where was he now, from two weeks, three days fours and twenty six minutes ago when he shattered the easy atmosphere of friends lazily nursing bottles of smuggled alcohol and making jibes at each other with his sudden news of transfer? Doing exactly what he was two weeks, three days four hours and twenty five minutes ago, except with the rest of the Camelot University football team as they watched the aptly-dressed "CU Dragon" cheerleaders run cheerfully onto the field.

To be completely honest, Arthur had always known that one day his father would move him back to Camelot, so there was no surprise there. That was where Pendragon manor was situated, where Morgana, his step-sister, lived and attended high school and now university, and more importantly in Uther's eyes, where the Pendragon Company Headquaters were located. What did come as a surprise was that they would organize his transfer months before then figure a days notice would be all he needed.

Was he pissed?

Yes.

Was he going to show it?

To Morgana maybe, but to his father?

No.

Because showing anything but strength and achievement to his father was something he had learnt a long time ago not to do.

So much to the disappointment of Morgana, Arthur had greeted his father with nothing more than a hand shake and a polite conversation before settling quietly into his new life without a fuss.

On his first day of university, he was admitted into the exclusive football team (much to the disappointment of the rest of the male population of Cam-U who had all attended the grueling try-outs and had failed to impress Gwaine, the team captain the same way Arthur had with little ease) and secured a place in the elite footballers only fraternity and had therefore, in Morgana's eyes, sold his soul to the devil and joined the evil league of the brainless.

Arthur had never understood his step-sister's hatred of all people popular, head-turning, and undeniably _her_. Upon coming to Camelot University, Arthur had laughed at the whole Morgana-ness of Morgana's unique position in the university. Courtesy of her stunning looks, impeccable fashion and her relation to Uther Pendragon and by extension, Uther Pendragons millions of dollars, Morgana floated in her own, natural popularity despite her dismissive and snappy comments about the cheerleaders and the footballers (aka. the biggest sorority and frat house) and the fact that her friends consisted of a selection of Cam-U's cast-outs. Her friends, the only two people she had deemed "fun" at the school, were Mordred, a child prodigy who had been accelerated three years ahead, and Morgause, a smoky-eyed literature student who had a fixation with crystals and spiritual connections. Needless to say, both were shielded from total annihilation by Morgana's unwanted status.

Arthur smiled in appreciation as Kay swapped out his near empty cup with a freshly filled one. These people weren't that bad. Well, not as bad as Morgana made them out to be anyway. Sure, some of them were really only at one of the most prestigious universities because of subtle "donations" to the school (although then there were the exceptions, like Gwaine and Lance who weren't straight-A students but were pretty damn close) but generally they were a nice to hang around, if not a little predictable and dull at times. But Arthur didn't care, he _liked _predictable and dull, it offered security and contentment.

"Check out the legs on Vivian," whistled Leon as the cheerleaders began their routine.

Arthur grinned, "Perv. Although if we're going to go there, keep your eye on Sophie, her skirt hikes up every time she moves her legs.

Faking an interest in girls was so second nature to him now that he barely felt the anxiety that others would figure out he was gay like he did in the earlier days. That was a secret only Morgana knew, and if it was in his power, would stay that way. To everyone else, he was straight Arthur Pendragon, not Arthur Pendragon who realised he really _was_ gay after sleeping with one Sally Tumbleton who he only really went out with to ease his father's pestering.

As he watched the routine, Arthur wondered what all the commotion had been about. Sure, they weren't bad by any means, but they weren't anything exceptional. He supposed hot girls dancing in mini-skirts would excite the male side of Cam-U but he that still didn't account for all the small snippets of conversation he had heard whilst walking from class to class ("-wonder what it's going to be at half-time-" "-can't wait for half-time again-" "-to bring camera for half-time tomorrow-")

The crowd seemed equally as moved by the cheerleader's performance as he was and Arthur had began to wonder if there was perhaps a second part to the routine that included fireworks and a dancing monkey when a group of girls shouted out from the crowd,

"Merlin!"

Arthur turned around, "What the hell.."

Another group of people let out a cheer and before he could even register what was going on, the crowd burst into a collective chant of "Merlin! Merlin! Merlin!"

Arthur turned to Kay who was clapping his hands to the time of the chant, "What's happening?"

Kay laughed, "Yeh, someone should have probably explained before hand, because now this is going to be shit weird for you. Long story short, Merlin's the more entertaining half of half-time."

"So he's an act?"

Kay grinned, "Not officially, but he does come every half-time to cheer for us, Gwaine specifically though."

Arthur raised his eyebrows, "Weird..?"

"Don't let Gwaine hear you say that, you'll wake up with your hands bound in a desert far far away. I mean, he was pretty much immortal in High school and people here are starting to catch on to that. All the girls think he's the cutest thing ever and all the guys who have a problem with him just learn to shut-up. In the first year of High school, this guy made a big deal about Merlin being gay so Gwaine bashed him up, snuck into his room and exploded a paint bomb in there and then shaved off one of his eyebrows. Safe to say, no one bags out Merlin. Not that all of us are secretly hiding our hate either, I mean, he's a pretty cool guy, people come to half-time just to watch him and everyone on the team is kinda buddies with him anyway."

Before Arthur could say anything else, a gong sounded and the cheerleaders moved good-naturedly to the back, as if used to having to stop in the middle of their routines.

"_Test your might.."_

Arthur's ears perked, he recognised this song, but there was no way...

He turned excitedly over to Kay who was grinning like a mad-man, "Hey, is this-"

The next line of the song answered his question.

"_MORTAL KOMBAT!"_

On cue, a lithe figure sprang out from the darkness into the brightly-lit field, lip-synching the words rather comically.

Wasting no time, the raven-haired boy pointed towards the Cam-U football captain, head dramatically held up high and in profile, with only his eyes and small smirk cast towards the crowd.

Raising his other arm up, he formed a heart with his hands, revelling only in the quick burst of cheering for a moment before disappearing back into the darkness.

Right on the word _"Fight"_, he came back, this time dressed in what resembled very closely the distinctive attire of the dean. In time with the beats, the figure did what would be described as impressive half dance half fight choreography, stopping only to turn and dramatically lipsync _"Mortal Kombat"_ and to run back into the dark to change costumes in surprising quickness.

After a few costume changes, the raven-haired boy ran out in what seemed to be a mock replica of the opposing teams football jersey. The crowd cheered as the boy stumbled, reeling comically and rather realistically back from invisible punches and kicks before spinning and falling down as the song ended on a booming _"finish him"_

The field filled with a thunderous applause as the figure rose back up, saluting before disappearing back into the darkness.

Arthur felt himself join in on the applause, mouth agape in a disbelieving grin.

As the cheering died down, the team began to get ready for the game. Arthur was half-way on to putting on his helmet when he saw the skinny figure, now clad in his original clothing, jog up to their bench, waving a general "hi" the team before heading towards Gwaine.

Arthur couldn't help it. He _stared_.

One of his first thoughts when the performance started, he had to admit, was _"good-looking"_. It was a fleeting thought, he was far away enough that he could barely notice any defining features. But now, the same person stood barely metres away, chattering to the team captain and all Arthur could do was notice.

He was incredibly skinny, a feature that was enhanced by his height. His hair was a mesmerising black, the type that looked natural and _dark _yet suggested nothing of gothic or emo. It was dishevelled from the rough pulling on and off of clothes and contrasted with the pale milkiness of his skin that stretched delicately across high cheekbones. His eyes were a mix of blue-green that held a slight hint of gold whenever he shifted slightly and was caught in the stadium lights. All in all, he looked as Arthur could only describe as magical.

Feeling himself grow hot, Arthur looked away, wiping his palms on his jersey and busying himself with inspecting his helmet for no apparent reason.

"Are you alright?" asked Kay from his right.

Arthur put his helmet down defensively, "Hm?"

"You look a little flushed mate, want to sub out? Valiant has been dying to play, he has a thing against the Dalton's quarterback."

Nodding, he sat down. He didn't think he'd be able to play properly with _those_ eyes watching him.

As the second half of the game started and the two teams ran onto the field, Arthur was preoccupied by putting away his helmet when a figure sat down next to him on the bench.

"Hi."

Arthur mentally cursed himself for his sudden nervousness. If he blushed now, he would never forgive himself.

"Hey," he replied, pleased that at least his voice didn't falter, something he had mastered from talking to his father.

"I don't think we've met before, I'm Merlin."

"Arthur."

The boy smiled, Arthur's stomach flipped.

"You're new on the team right?"

"Yeh." Holy shit, was he not capable of anything more than one word answers? Where were his frankly exceptional social skills and his witty remarks? He was a Pendragon goddamit, he was a charmingly arrogant bastard and people liked him for it.

"Your performance was really good." He said suddenly, in desperation to say more than the three words he had said so far.

Merlin grinned, ducking his head in embarrassment, "Yeh?"

"Yeh, I am and always will be a Mortal Kombat fanboy." Arthur mentally cringed, though did a very good job of showing nothing but ease on his face. Great, now he sounded crazy.

To his relief, Merlin laughed, "I love Mortal Kombat. Sub-zero all the way."

"Oh come on, I can beat Sub-zero with my eyes closed if I use Scorpion."

"Prat,"

"Idiot." Replied Arthur without missing a beat.

"This calls for a duel," said Merlin, the corners of his mouth lifting up into a smile.

As Arthur began his reply, the sound of a phone interrupted their conversation.

Opening a text, Merlin frowned slightly before standing up.

"Sorry, I've got to go sit with my mum in the stands, she came all the way from Ealdor. I only really came down to say hi."

"Oh." Arthur's brow furrowed, "Alright, well, see you then?"

Merlin grinned, "course, we've got a showdown remember?"

Arthur watched his retreating back. He was screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

**STOP STOP STOP STOP! IF YOU HAVEN'T REREAD THE FIRST CHAPTER GO BACK OR YOU WILL BE FOREVER LOST IN A PIT OF CONFUSION. **

**Yep, to clarify, it's not set in University not high school.**

**Anyway. Sorry i'm a complete ass and have not updated in ages but writers block is horrible and this chapter is extra long to make up for it.  
(also warning: there is a bit of swearing in this chapter)**

**Enjoy:**

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By the end of his second week at Camelot University, Arthur had successfully sussed out who his friends were. No doubt the cheerleaders and the team were what he called friends, but as he had learnt from a young age, there were "friends" and then there were _friends_.

The footballers he liked in general, but out of the twelve players excluding himself, he had found only four players he genuinely liked individually. There was Gwaine, who appeared to have an endless supply of alcohol and partied religiously yet was rarely drunk enough to be unable to navigate his way back to the frat house at midnight and complete an A-grade essay. Kay, who was good-natured and by far the friendliest and though not stupid (which was, as Morgana kindly pointed out, wasn't something that you could say for a lot of his "friends"), was admitted into the prestigious university courtesy of his fathers wallet. Leon, who had average grades but was incredibly sporty and was deeply immersed into the world of pop culture. Finally, there was Lance, who due to his knighthood-worthy honour code was easily the most reliable, honest and hard-working, matching Gwaine in academic skills (although Lance had pointed out over breakfast once that if Gwaine put down his bottle and actually paid attention in class, he'd probably be one of those beautiful minds of the century people. Catching his name, the captain looked up from pouring the contents of a silver flask into his coffee cup with a grin and a "sorry, wasn't listening, what was that mate?")

Of all the cheerleaders he had met so far, he had found only one of them bearable. He had met Gwen by accident at the library when both of them had reached for the same book. Apparently they were in the same commerce class and after a slightly awkward start due to what Arthur now called Gwen's trademark babbling routine _("I'm Arthur by the way." "Yes, I know who you are. I mean, I don't know who you are. Well I do now, but I did before, but not in this way. I mean I'm not implying that this is anything.."_) they had clicked and now she was probably one of his closest friends.

So that was it. He had a total of five friends at Camelot University (Morgana had her own special category) and the rest were either "friends" or strangers.

And then there was Merlin.

Technically Merlin was an acquaintance, if not leaning towards stranger, but there was just something about him that made Arthur feel like he had known him for a lifetime. Though he was not going to admit it, he was disappointed that he hadn't heard from Merlin since the game. It was petty, since they had talked to each other for a time span of about two minutes, but he had been hoping that the raven-haired boy would just turn up with Mortal Kombat in one hand and a controller in the other and that ridiculously goofy smile of his.

He had managed to somewhat push Merlin into the back of his mind, but every once in a while, he found himself drifting back to the person in question. Though despite this, he was proud to say that he had at least refrained from showing any signs of interest in the boy in front of any of his "friends" and _friends_ alike (though this was far from true for Morgana: _"I wonder what he majors in. Something bookish. Probably medicine. He suits bookish." "Drama, Arthur dear." "He's probably in our grade. I wonder if he's the same age as me?" "Younger." "Do you think his ears have always been that size or do you think they grew as he got older?" "Arthur?" "Yes Morgs?" "Shut up.")_

Speaking of Morgana, her 21st birthday was approaching and he had no idea what to get her. Taking the best course of action, he had methodically compiled a list of possible gifts (something his father would have approved of) but drew a blank after the third point (1. Shoes – may be hard to find a pair she doesn't have/approves of. 2. Friends who are not creepy – may be impossible for Morgana. 3. A soul - ?)

Not wanting to ask Morgause (who he had met only once and did not plan on meeting again), he had seeked out Gwen for advice which was how he found himself on an impromptu shopping trip.

After a few hours of shopping, they had successfully picked out Morgana's gifts and were now settling into a booth at a coffee shop.

Morgana's presents consisted of a designer green dress and a Tiffany and co. necklace. Both had been picked out by Gwen after Arthur had briefed her on Morgana's tastes and showed her snapshots he had taken of Morgana's wardrobe. Tiffany and co. she had said was a given for a girls 21st and after spotting the green dress in one of the windows of the stores on the higher end street, Gwen had exclaimed that that was perfect for her. Walking in the store and looking at the dress up close, Arthur had agreed. Gwen had paled at the price when the shop attendant had casually rolled the numbers off her tongue but Arthur just shrugged and handed over his credit card.

Not wanting Gwen to feel awkward (she was a scholarship student and he could tell being in designer shops was making her feel out of depth) he steered her back towards the normal shopping area of Camelot and into the first coffee shop to celebrate their success.

"So, what do you want? My shout."

Gwen shook her head, "Ever the gentleman Arthur, but you don't need to do that."

Arthur scoffed, "Of course I do. If it wasn't for you I would have gotten her something stupid like a gift card and she would have never talked to me again."

"Yeh, that's a pretty horrible gift." "Not that you're horrible." Added Gwen quickly, "what I meant was-"

Arthur grinned as Gwen stopped mid sentence, blushing, "I'm doing that thing again aren't I?"

At that moment, the waitress walked up to their table, "Hi, are you ready to order?"

Arthur nodded, "I'll have a short black, two sugars and a blueberry muffin, and she'll have a chai tea and a raspberry scone."

"Who said that's what I wanted?"

Arthur raised his eyebrow, "Isn't that what you would have ordered anyway?"

Gwen smiled, rolling her eyes, "Yes, but that's not the point."

The waitress, who had been watching the whole exchange, beamed, "Well, I'll just go and get your orders. You two are an adorable couple!"

As she flounced away, an awkward silence passed onto them.

Clearing his throat, Arthur shifted in his seat.

"Not that you're not great or anything..but you do know this isn't a date?"

To his relief, Gwen burst out laughing and the awkward atmosphere vanished.

"It's not like I'm exactly your type, am I?"

Confused, Arthur raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're gay, aren't you?"

Arthur spluttered, on one hand, thinking how Gwen knew since he was pretty sure he was what they called a closet gay and as far as he knew he had only ever told Morgana and on the other hand how it was possible to choke on thin air.

"How did you.." he asked weakly.

Gwen faltered, only just figuring that being gay probably wasn't something Arthur Pendragon went around shouting, "I just sort of knew."

Arthur paled.

"It isn't obvious," she added quickly, "I mean, my dad always told me I was really observant with people and I've just been around you a lot in the past two weeks. I don't think anyone else knows."

"Can you not, er, tell anyone?" asked Arthur, still slightly dazed.

Gwen nodded vigorously, "Of course! Of course I won't tell if you don't want me to. Not that they would mind you know, the team. I mean, it's not exactly something new for them, with Merlin and all."

Arthur sat up somewhat straighter, his mini crisis pushed to the back of his mind as thoughts of the drama student swirled in his head.

"Merlin?" he asked cautiously. This, he realised, was the perfect time to pump out any information Gwen had.

Gwen smiled, glad they were getting away from the whole you're-a-closet-gay-but-I-can-see-straight-through-that-even-though-I've-only-known-you-for-two-weeks debacle.

"Merlin's great, you've probably at least heard of him since you're living with the boys and Gwaine. Tall, skinny, blackish hair-"

Arthur nodded, "I know, i've met him before, we talked at the game."

"Yeh?"

Casually, Arthur took a sip of his coffee as the waitress set their orders down, not wanting to make it obvious he was prodding for information.

"So, how long have you known him for?"

Gwen bit into her scone.

"About three years? I met him when I transferred halfway through highschool. He's one of my closest friends if not my best friend at times. He's close with a few of the team but he and Gwaine are something else."

"Oh?" said Arthur, ignoring the pang in his chest, "What do you mean, like they're dating?"

Gwen laughed, much to Arthur's relief.

"God no, however I guess you wouldn't know it for sure unless you knew both of them well. Gwaine's not strictly speaking straight, I don't think he cares either way but he's not into relationships and he'd rather eat his own hand then pull Merlin into something that meaningless. Not that Merlin follows him around like a love-sick puppy, they're more like brothers. I mean, I don't know if I should be telling you this because it's a bit personal, not that I don't trust you of course but It's Gwaine's story and a bit Merlin's not that I'm saying they don't trust you but-"

"Gwen."

"Right, well I'll tell you because I don't think they'd mind since you're friends with Gwaine anyway and you know Merlin and it's not really like a secret since everyone knows anyway-"

"_Gwen_."

Gwen huffed, "I'm getting there! So Gwaine was one of those kids who slacked off in class and did whatever the hell he wanted. He'd skip school at least once a week and other kids tended to avoid him, not that he seemed to care anyway. Then in middle school, he met Merlin for the first time. As legend goes, a group of guys in Gwaine's year were picking on Merlin, who was in the year below them, for being a drama queer and Merlin being Merlin had no sense of self preservation and called them a group of homophobic asshats and attempted to fight the four of them when Gwaine jumped in, beat them up and since then they've been friends. Gwaine became a lot more open, you know, one of those people that everyone likes except he still calls Merlin his only true friend. He's always looking out for Merlin, basically maiming anyone who even looks at Merlin funny and Merlin in turn is always looking after him, being the only one who can draw Gwaines attention away from a bottle and basically acting as his common sense. They're really sweet together though, like Merlin's always dedicating his half-time performance to Gwaine and Gwaines always making sure that every single seat is filled when Merlin has a drama performance on."

Arthur mused on his new found information, biting thoughtfully into his muffin.

"Do you have a thing for Merlin?"

Spluttering, Arthur reached for his napkin. He would have to stop eating and or drinking in front of Gwen, lest she casually voice out another one of his carefully guarded secrets like they were on show for the world to see.

"No." He managed to voice out weakly, taking a gulp of his drink to clear out his throat.

Gwen quirked an eyebrow, "It's just that you seem sort of interested in him."

Arthur quirked an eyebrow back, mirroring Gwen's expression, "Like you seemed interested in Lance?"

He grinned triumphantly as Gwen blushed furiously, hiding behind her chai tea as she took a larger than necessary sip.

"I'm serious Arthur." She said, adopting a stern expression.

Arthur shrugged, what could he say? He was infatuated with the boy and they had talked for less than five minutes.

"I thought he was good looking, like a lot of people on the street, that's all Gwen." _Liar. He is good-looking in a way that isn't like Gwaine's Abercrombie and Fitch worthy looks or Percivals well defined muscles but in a way that is purely Merlin and simply breath taking._

Gwen bit her lip, as if wavering between whether to believe him or not, "For Merlin's sake just think before you do Arthur, don't rush in if you're not absolutely sure."

Arthur furrowed his brow, "For Merlin's sake?"

Gwen frowned before hesitating, "Don't worry about it, anyway, so what are you planning to do on Morgana's birthday-"

**-x-**

Arthur flipped half-heartedly through one of the many books littered in Morgana's dorm room. Both had opted to go for living on campus, moving back to Pendragon manor only on occasional week-ends and special occasions/holidays.

As of now, Arthur had currently taken up residence in Morgana's dorm, since Gwen had cheerleader practice and the parts of the team that were at the frat house were frantically trying to finish up term papers and could probably do without his distraction. Not that that stopped him from bothering Morgana as she slaved over a research journal on 'Mycenaean war and conflict'.

"I went out with Gwen today."

Morgana snorted, "did you have fun discussing the cast of Jersey shore and the reasons why anorexia is better than food?"

"Really Morgana," drawled Arthur, "do you even know who Gwen is?"

"Brainless cheerleader. Speaking of which, why don't you go find them now so I can read in peace."

Arthur rolled his eyes. Morgana Pendragon, forever the ice queen. "Cheerleading practice. I think you'd like her actually. Anyway, she was telling me about Merlin-"

"Arthur I really don't have time to listen to you obsess over someone."

Arthur scoffed, "I'm not obsessing-"

"Yes you are," replied Morgana, "Now go away unless you happen to know all about the Mycenaean's and can magically input that information into my brain."

Pointedly ignoring his step sister, Arthur continued to lounge on her bed, feet propped up against headboard, "So he and Gwaine aren't dating."

Morgana sighed, "No they're not Arthur."

"They're good friends though.."

"Mhmm. Arthur I'm trying to study."

"..but then why hasn't he come to our place in over two weeks?"

Morgana hunched further over her text. Maybe if she stopped responding her step-brother would follow suit.

"I mean, Gwaine's always leaving the house so you can probably assume he's visiting Merlin but you'd think since Merlin is friends with the team he'd come over every once in a while."

Morgana lifted her eyes from the book, there was no use. Would people notice if Arthur went missing? Was it ok to strangle him to death then claim self-defence? She was sure she could work her around it somehow..

"Does he even live on campus-"

Arthur was cut short as Morgana calmly snapped closed her book.

"Right, get up." She demanded, suddenly standing over him.

Arthur grumbled but obeyed, knowing that if he didn't his step-sister would find a way to blow him up with her mind or something equally as powerfully evil.

With his wrist caught in an iron grip, Arthur found himself being dragged along the dorm room corridors, taking multiple turns and a flight of stairs before they stopped short in front of an unfamiliar door.

Scowling, Arthur rubbed his wrists, "Morgana, where the hell are we?"

Showing no signs of hearing her step-brother, Morgana rapped on the door.

Having been expecting to have been taken to Morgauses room for punishment, it came as a surprise to Arthur when the door opened to reveal a slightly dazed Merlin.

His hair was dishevelled like the night they had met, except this time it appeared to be from running his hands through it rather than changing costumes. He had opened the door with a grim expression but quickly composed himself, hiding all signs of whatever was troubling him however quickly adopted an expression of confusion as he regarded the two Pendragons outside his door.

"Hey Morgana," he said, mouth turning up in to a small smile, "..Arthur," he added on, somewhat shyly as his eyes flickered over to him briefly before back to the brooding figure of Morgana.

Before Arthur could even say "hello" Morgana cut in with her own "Hi Merlin," before adding bluntly, "My brother wants to talk to you."

Without another word, she promptly turned around, marching rather triumphantly towards the direction of her dorm.

Arthur's mind went into overdrive. The first though that came into his mind was "damnhe'sgoodlooking" then "HOLYSHITIWILLKILLMORGANA" and then "" and finally "."

Unfortunately his mind went blank after that and any plausible lie that would have in any other circumstance worked it's convincing way on to his tongue easily refused to appear.

He was short of just saying he left the stove on at the frat house and turning around when Merlin cocked his head to the side and smiled,

"Here to get owned in Mortal Kombat?"

Yes! Embarrassment avoided. Oh god he could almost kiss him right now (although he could almost kiss him for completely different reasons as well).

"And here I thought you were hiding so you wouldn't have to admit Sub-zero is a horrible character choice."

Merlin rolled his eyes, though still smiling, "Has anyone ever told you that you were a prat? Unfortunately, I don't have the game with me though."

Arthur frowned, shielding most of the disappointment from showing on his face, "Oh."

He had just been about to figure out some sort of witty goodbye when Merlin opened his door a little wider,

"Do you want to come in anyway?" he asked hesitantly.

Arthur did a victory dance in his mind, cheering, before calmly shrugging and adopting a perfect example of nonchalance on his face.

"Sure, I don't think Morgana would let me back in her room anyway."

Stepping into the tiny dorm, Arthur was immediately assaulted (pleasantly) with the smell of thyme and cinnamon and everything that was purely _Merlin_.

The room was littered with sheets of paper, some of which were music scores and others that were either hastily scribbled down notes or what appeared to be sections of different scripts. In the corner was a violin perched on a stand with its bow hanging haphazardly on the window sill. The rest of the floor was occupied by a mixture of clothes and props from his classes.

Merlin motioned towards the bed, the only place that seemed to be clear of other items, "er, sit there."

Arthur obliged, careful not to step on anything on his way there.

Meanwhile, Merlin moved quickly around the room with precision, "sorry," he muttered as he shoved bits and pieces in drawers and closets in an attempt to clean, "I have a show coming up and I haven't had time to tidy up."

Arthur grinned, "I'm willing to bet that it's always like this anyway."

Still perched upon the bed, Arthur ducked to avoid the stuffed dragon that was flung at his direction.

"I'll have to teach you how to not throw like a girl one day," tutted Arthur as he picked up the dragon, looking around for a place to put it before settling for putting it on the desk next to the bed.

As he placed the dragon down, a small torn piece of creased paper caught his attention, sticking out from the other perfectly crisp and full formed papers.

His blood went cold as he read the words.

_Piss of fag, we don't need you here acting like a girl and perving on our junk._

Hands shaking, he crumpled up the note before noticing similar scrunched up pieces of paper in the bin. Reaching down, he smoothed them out, revealing multiple notes with variations of the same basic message.

Feeling anger rile up in him, Arthur looked up just as Merlin turned around.

Seeing the pieces of paper on his bed and Arthur's expression, the smile from Merlin's face vanished, replaced by a complete look of horror.

"No!" he yelled, leaping onto the bed, gathering the pieces of paper up and shoving them into the bin.

"What the fuck were those?" asked Arthur with a deadly calm, his anger evident in his eyes.

"Nothing," muttered Merlin, bending down to pick up a t-shirt.

"Do you know who wrote them?"

Merlin stayed quiet for a moment, folding his t-shirt before shrugging, "I have a pretty good idea."

Arthur nodded, his anger seeping through as his voice became rigid, "Alright, so why don't you tell them to stop fucking with you."

Scoffing, Merlin whirled around, "Yes, because I'm so threatening," he hissed.

"Surely Gwaine will-"

"Promise me you won't tell Gwaine!" blurted out Merlin, a look of pure panic blazoned on his face.

Arthur faltered, "But-"

"Promise me!" Yelled Merlin.

Overtaken by the intensity of Merlin's stare, Arthur backed down, glaring.

"Fine, I'll kill them myself."

Merlin's eyes widened in surprise before he looked away, "I don't need protecting," he muttered, "he's not going to hurt me, it's just words."

Arthur sighed, "Words hurt."

Looking defeated, the raven-haired boy sat down on the bed, crossing his legs, "I know."

"Look..can we just not talk about this?" said Merlin quietly, "Just say something, anything else. I don't want to think about this right now. Distract me."

Arthur nodded slightly. He would find out who was sending those notes one way or another and he was going to slowly torture and then kill them. But right now, he was going to take Merlin's mind away from it. It was the least he could do after practically shoving it back in his face.

"Would you rather wear a hat made of spiders for the rest of your life or have penis fingers?" said Arthur automatically, mouth functioning on auto-pilot.

As soon as the words left his mouth he wanted to crawl into the nearest hole and die. He had just asked the person who he was infatuated with if he wanted penis fingers as a way of cheering him up.

What the hell.

Then Merlin laughed. Really laughed as he collapsed onto his side. Arthur found himself joining in as his mortification disappeared and soon they were both rolling around in hysterics on the bed.

As they calmed down, Merlin sat up, hand still clutched around his stomach, "Am I allowed to ask questions?" he asked, grinning.

Arthur shrugged, "Why not."

"Are the spiders alive or dead?"

"Alive, of course."

Merlin wrinkled his nose, "Penis fingers then."

Arthur let out a bark of laughter, "Are you serious?"

"I could always wear gloves," stated Merlin, matter of factly.

"Besides," he added, "they'll pass as a mutation or a disfiguration which means people can't make fun of me without looking like an ass. Wearing a spider hat will just make me look like a creeper."

"Huh." Said Arthur, "I never thought about it that way."

Merlin raised an eyebrow and Arthur caught on, "Not that I think of penis fingers," he added quickly to which Merlin smirked.

**-x-**

Two hours later and countless rounds of would-you-rather and just talking in general, they were about to launch into a discussion of who was the best doctor when Merlin spotted the time.

"Damnit, we've been talking for ages." Groaning, he moved to set his alarm, "I've got line reading in the morning as well.."

"I should probably go then.." said Arthur, reluctantly standing up from his comfortable position on the bed.

For a moment, Arthur saw what he thought could be disappointment flickering across Merlins face (but then again, it could be the imagination of the same retarded part of his brain that came up with penis fingers)

"Yeh, well, I'll scope around for a copy of Mortal Kombat."

Arthur grinned, having to almost force himself to move towards the door.

"See you later then?"

Merlin yawned, managing to look as breath-taking as ever in his near sleep induced state, "See you later. Night Arthur."

"Good night Merlin."

"Oh and Arthur?"

Arthur turned around, already halfway out the door but very willing to walk back in and crawl into that bed,

"Yell at Gwaine for me if he drinks in the morning. Tell him that just because I can't check up on him in the morning since rehearsal started doesn't mean it's a free pass to pour alcohol into coffee."

Chuckling, Arthur closed the door, heading into the corridors.

**-x-**

It was late but Morgana was still awake, due to the sheer thickness of the work she had to read. When he had walked into her room, she had given him what he could only describe as the look one would give before eating a baby and crushing the dreams of puppies.

"Relax," he said, rolling his eyes, "I'm just here to get my jacket."

Morgana sighed before throwing the said item at her step-brother,

"Didn't think you'd be back till morning judging by the way you were leering at him."

"I do not _leer_." said Arthur, obviously offended.

Suddenly Morgana's expression softened, as if she knew something he didn't.

"Arthur, if you're serious..just really think about this before you do anything ok? Merlin's a good person and there are just things..especially in your position Arthur, you're not even comfortable with being gay yet.. I'm just saying make sure you're really sure."

Arthur frowned. This was basically a repeat of the conversation he had with Gwen in the coffee shop.

"Things?" he asked.

"Not my place to say." Said Morgana slowly.

Sensing the tension, Arthur moved to break it, "Merlin's a good person? I wasn't aware you liked anyone else besides your complete adoration of me and those two..people you hang around."

Glad they had shifted away from the topic beforehand, Morgana relapsed into her regular self.

"Those two people have names," sniped Morgana, "and for your information I am friends with Merlin. We did go to the same high school and we both volunteered at the city library. He's perfectly nice. His only flaw is that he likes hanging around with those Neanderthals."

"They're not that bad Morgs."

"Oh please," drawled Morgana, "Valiant couldn't name a Dickens novel if his life depended on it."

"Alright," Arthur admitted, "but not all of them are bad. Gwaine, Kay, Leon, Lance and Gwen are actually good people. In fact I think you'd rather like Gwen."

Morgana rolled her eyes, "I think you've said that about fifty times now, and I'm sure talking about Brangelina and Lindsay Lohan would be invigorating."

Arthur smiled, walking out the door, "Cool, I'll tell her you want to meet up then."

Morgana opened and closed her mouth as Arthur disappeared from her room, "Arthur!"

* * *

** THAR. finally managed to publish a chapter. How was it?**

**Also. Are you confused? Why is it that they're in Uni now when in the last chapter they were in highschool? THE FIRST CHAPTER HAS BEEN REWRITTEN**

**(sorry, :p just making sure those who skip the Authors note at the top know what's going on.)**


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